


you got me going crazy (you're creeping in my heart babe)

by beautiful_suicide



Category: Big Bang (Band), EXO (Band), GOT7, SEVENTEEN (Band), VIXX, 방탄소년단 | Bangtan Boys | BTS
Genre: Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés, Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Bambam is the dab king, Blood, Branding, Clubbing, Dance classes, Death, Disappointment, Drugs, Family, Fights, Gangs, Help, I didn't plan this but, Jackson centric, Jackson is confused and cute, Jaebum is badass, Jinyoung is also small, Kidnapping, M/M, Mark Tuan is Mark, Minor Character Death, Minor Injuries, Multi, Romantic Soulmates, Sexual Content, Threats, Youngjae is sunshine, Yugyeom is sassy, but fierce, but soft, gang life, hickey, murders
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-09-05
Updated: 2016-11-05
Packaged: 2018-08-13 03:34:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 12,457
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7960843
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/beautiful_suicide/pseuds/beautiful_suicide
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Jackson knew something strange was going on and he was determined he was going find out exactly what it was. Soulmates be damned, something weird was going on.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. boy, you had your eye out for a little

**Author's Note:**

> Welp. New story, new something, this will be multichapter but no guarantee when I will update but just be patient with me. it may take a few chapters to get into the actually detailed plot line but WE'LL GET THERE SOONER OR LATER.  
> ENJOY.

Jackson kept his head down as he walked through the once more crowded hallways. It was his first day at the university, a foreign university that is, and he had got lost more than once already and it wasn’t even noon yet.

Sighing, he looked around at his surroundings before finally stopping in front of a door numbered 201. Checking his watch as he walked into the room, he realized he was in his class fifteen minutes before it began and only the professor was in the room.

The man looked up sharply at the sound of the door opening.

“Ah, sorry, I showed up a little early.” Jackson apologized, bowing, before going to exit the class.

“It’s fine. Stay. Are you new to the university?” The man spoke kindly, gesturing for Jackson to sit down in one of the seats in the front.

“Yes. I actually just moved yesterday and thought to go ahead and get myself acquainted with the school. I don’t officially start until tomorrow.”

“Eager, aren’t we?” The man grinned. “I’m Professor Kim, you already know that I’m sure.” At Jackson’s little nod, he chuckled. “Since there is so many Professor Kim’s in this university, just call me Namjoon, alright?”

Jackson nodded and with that, the professor went back to what Jackson assumed most teachers to do in their free time, grading papers.

He brought out his phone and saw that he had two new messages. After reading the brief messages, he responded back in the simplest way that he could.

**_From: Markipoo~~_ **

**_To: Wang Kong (_ ** **_왕_ ** **_콩_ ** **_)_ **

_Dude, are you there yet? Everyone wants to meet you; they’ve been really excited since I told them that you were coming!_

**_To: Markipoo~~_ **

**_From: Wang Kong (_ ** **_왕_ ** **_콩_ ** **_)_ **

_I’m sitting in my third class of the day. I wasn’t supposed to start until tomorrow. Where are you guys right now?_

**_From: Dolbaeki_ **

**_To: Wang Kong (_ ** **_왕_ ** **_콩_ ** **_)_ **

_Ya, Jackson-ah! How is South Korea so far? I know it’s very different from Hong Kong but I’m sure you’ll like it with time. Mark has been messaging me about you, are you ignoring him? -3-_

**_To: Dolbaeki_ **

**_From:_ ** **_Wang Kong (_ ** **_왕_ ** **_콩_ ** **_)_ **

_South Korea is actually pretty interesting; everyone is very kind to me. I already feel very at home. As for Mark, I just replied. I’ve just been very busy with getting acquainted with my surroundings._

Jackson sighed once more before checking the time. There was five minutes before the class started.

“Uh. Excuse me, Professor Namjoon?”

The professor lifted his head.

“Yes?”

“It wouldn’t be rude of me to leave, would it? Considering that I’m not supposed to attend until tomorrow?”

Namjoon chuckled quietly.

“Go ahead, just be here on time tomorrow.” Jackson bowed once more before grabbing his bag and walking swiftly out of the room. He brought out his phone once more to see that he had a new message from Mark.

**_From: Markipoo~~_ **

**_To:_ ** **_Wang Kong (_ ** **_왕_ ** **_콩_ ** **_)_ **

_We’re at the café at the end of the campus, you can’t miss it! Show up whenever you have time!_

Locking his phone, he shoved it into his pocket as he walked leisurely to the area where Mark had directed him to. It took about ten minutes to walk there but he knew he was in the right area when he heard the gentle music coming out a tiny building along the side of the campus building. Walking in, he expected a cutesy environment but was met with a semi-dark, hipster feel to the café.

Jackson looked around at the tables, trying to spot Mark’s freshly dyed pink hair and almost immediately, he spotted the man he was looking for at a table surrounded by five other guys.

Smirking, he made his way quietly to the table. As he approached the table, the other guys noticed him coming and narrowed their eyes slightly at him. He put a finger to his own lips and gestured for them to shush.

The bigger looking one just shrugged and went back talking to brown haired, lanky male who was making a weird face at Mark.

A few more steps and Jackson was right behind Mark. Grinning wickedly, he leaned down until his mouth was at Mark’s ear. The other five guys were looking at Jackson curiously as Jackson whispered creepily, “I like to watch you sleep. You’re pretty.”, extremely fast into Mark’s ear.

Mark jumped out of his seat and turned around the have some words with the ‘stranger’ until he saw that it was just Jackson.

“You jerk.” Mark yelled as he wrapped his arms around Jackson. Jackson let out a loud laugh and wrapped his own arms around Mark and lifted him into the air.

After setting the older male back onto the ground, Mark flicked him in the forehead.

“How was the flight? Everything was alright?”

All the sudden, the brown haired male who was originally making faces at Mark gasped. “Wait, is this the guy who came from Hong Kong that you’ve been telling us so much about?”

“The one and the only.” Jackson answered, laughing as Mark tried to wrap his arm around Jackson’s neck.

“Yo, what’s your name? Mark only referred to you as Hong Kong.” The older one said, his arm around another male who was leaning his head on his shoulder.

“Seriously.” He looked at Mark. “Seriously, you just couldn’t say my name, you wanted a surprise that big?” At Mark’s big nod, he rolled his eyes and pinched Mark’s side.

“I don’t understand you at times.” He said as he turned back to the group.

“As I know none of your guys’ names, I will introduce myself, I guess. You can call me Hong Kong if you want, many call me Wang Kong or just Wang, but my name is actually just Jackson Wang.”

As soon as Jackson finished saying his name out loud, the oldest looking one, the one with piercings and tattoos lined up and down his arms, and the one he was holding, a tall yet skinny looking male with a piercing in his lip and a tattoo on his shoulder, looked up. Well, not looked up, they legit shot up and looked at him.

“Your name is Jackson Wang?” The older one said, a somewhat fond tone in his voice. Why it was fond, Jackson will never know.

“Uh. Yeah. That a problem?” He asked, quirking up an eyebrow.

The younger looking one of the pair looked up at the other with what seemed like a happy expression plastered on his face.

“ _Finally.”_  The older one whispered.

“What?” Jackson asked, not really understanding what the older one said.

No one said anything, yet everyone stared at him with what seemed like satisfaction.

“Well, I’m Choi Youngjae.” The one to the left of Mark said, breaking the silence.

“AH! You’re Markipoo’s soulmate, awe, Mark he’s so cute. You’re so lucky.” Jackson cooed at Youngjae before yanking him up into a hug. Youngjae chuckled lightly into his ear as he hugged Jackson back earnestly.

“I’m Kim Yugyeom and this is my soulmate, Kunpimook Bhuwakul, or as everyone calls him, BamBam.”

“Youngest, right?” Jackson made sure as hugged BamBam. Both nodded and after he got done hugging Yugyeom, he looked at the pair who was still staring at him.

“I’m Park Jinyoung and this is my soulmate, Im Jaebum. We have a third soulmate but we’re just waiting on him.” The pair seemed to be trying to convey something to him but Jackson was just confused.

“Coolio.” He yanked both of them into a hug and afterwards, everyone seemed to be waiting for something.

“Seriously, nothing? No reaction?” Yugyeom asked, being a little rude.

“Excuse me?”

“Jackson, do you know who your soulmates are?” Mark asked, a little disappointed.

“I did when I first got them…”

“And what about now?

“I haven’t seen the names since I was fourteen, I’m supposed to remember them? I saw them for a minute because they glowed when I was fourteen but after that minute, I would have to strain my eyes to death to find them. They’re in such tiny script on my back, it’d be hard for anyone here to find them.”

“So, you’re saying that you don’t remember their names?” Jaebum said, looking a little disappointed.

“I don’t remember their names. I wish I did but I don’t.”

The group was silent. No one said anything.

Suddenly, a voice called out.

“Jackson-ah!”

Jackson turned around and was pleasantly surprised to see Hakyeon and Taekwoon making their way to the group he was in right now.

“Hyung!” He shouted and met Hakyeon halfway in a tight embrace. A few moments later and there was coughing going around them.

He released Hakyeon and bowed to Taekwoon, who was still as quiet as ever.

He turned back around to look at the group when he noticed Jaebum and Jinyoung giving Hakyeon the death glare.

And suddenly, it all clicked.

“You’re my soulmates, aren’t you?” He questioned loudly, asking Jaebum and Jinyoung indirectly. Both heads turned his way in a shockingly short amount of time.

“How do you know? I thought you said you don’t remember the names of your soulmates.” Jinyoung stated bitterly.

“Just because I don’t remember, I’m not blind or oblivious. Everyone was so expectant when you said your names to me, like I was supposed to burst into confetti or something like that. Then everyone gets upset when I don’t know my soulmates names, excuse me, my memory is faulty. THEN as Hakyeon walks in and I embrace him, you two turn into possessive creatures, sending death glares his way. I am not oblivious.” He stated with a squint at them.

“Actually, you are kind of oblivious at times, if you think about it.” Mark whispered. Jackson glared at him and elbowed him.

“We never said you were oblivious Jackson. We were just disappointed and then we were jealous that you have such a close relationship with an extremely attractive guy.” Jaebum explained quietly.

Once again, there was silence once more before Jackson responded.

“It’s alright, I mean, no harm done. Plus, I find my soulmates so it’s a win-win situation.” He simply said, shrugging his shoulders. A smile came to Hakyeon’s face as he clasped Jackson’s shoulder tightly before exiting with Taekwoon, not before saying over his shoulder, “Text me later tonight, Jackson-ah.”

“Jackson, you really have a thing for the dramatics, don’t you?” Mark asked, chuckling lightly before pushing Jackson to his soulmates.

“Uh. Hi.” Jackson said awkwardly.

Jaebum let out a small chuckle. “Hi.”

“Hi!” Jinyoung inputted with a small smile.

A few moments passed before Jinyoung spoke up.

“Well, who’s up for some food? I’m starving.”

Almost all at once, voices picked up and started saying what they wanted to eat.

“Welcome to our little group Jackson.” Jaebum stated as he rested his arm on top of Jackson’s shoulders.

“It’s small, loud, and a little dysfunctional but it’s something that I’d never give up.” Jinyoung said, grinning at the pair before going over to nudge Yugyeom and BamBam to get their orders for the night.

“How’s South Korea for you so far?” Jaebum asked as he walked with Jackson behind the entire group. They were making their way to a small restaurant in the middle of town and instead of walking with Jinyoung like Jackson expected, he stayed behind with Jackson.

“It’s good so far, no one has been unreasonably rude with me, it’s not difficult to find my way around. All in all, it’s been a good experience.” He stated quietly before looking up at Jaebum. He noticed that a tattoo that was on the side of Jaebum’s neck was the same tattoo that was on Jinyoung’s shoulder. Now that he thought about it, Mark had showed him the glimpse of a tattoo that had looked similar to that tattoo as well. Jackson squinted his eyes slightly, confusion washing over him.

“So, what’s the story’s behind the tattoo’s and piercings?” Jackson asked, genuinely curious.

“Ah, these. Well, most of the tattoos don’t have any meanings behind them, just got them on a whim. Same with my piercings. I only have a few tattoos that actually have significance behind them.”

“He has like one that has meaning behind it, the rest were done when he was stupid and drunk off his ass, don’t listen to me Jackson-ah.” Mark inputted, grabbing Jackson’s hand and pulling him up the front of the group. Jackson let out his loud laugh as he saw Jaebum, the one who looked the scariest out of all of them, literally pout at Mark.

Jackson also couldn’t help but notice that as the group of seven walked on the sidewalk, people rushed to get out of their way. They make shaky eye contact with the males and some of them even bowed. Jackson was perplexed; why would strangers bow to other strangers without having a reason to?

Jackson knew something strange was going on and he was determined he was going find out exactly what it was. Soulmates be damned, something weird was going on.


	2. one, two, melantonin is coming for you (three, four, baby won't you lock the door)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Basically, filler while Jackson figures out that everyone is not what it seems.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ugh. I got a 70% on my AP Chem but TRUST ME I'M HAPPY WITH IT.

Yawning, Jackson slightly stumbled over his feet as he slowly but surely made his way onto the college campus. Most students lived on campus but Jackson had gotten lucky and scored an apartment that someone was renting out. He had a roommate, Sanghyuk, who was friends with Hakyeon and Taekwoon, and he honestly was a gentle, kind creature.

As it was, that meant that he had to leave his new home earlier than most students would have to because it was a good twenty-minute walk from the university. Hyuk wasn’t in high school but decided to not go to college because it just didn’t suit him, therefore, the younger male had the pleasure of just lying in all day until he had to get up to work later on that day.

 _‘Lucky s.o.b.’_ Jackson thought as he trudged onward towards to the café so he could get some caffeine in his body before he had his first class. He barely looked up as he walked into the almost dead café. There was only about two other people in the shop, both of the people looking how he felt. Jackson nodded in greeting as walked past one of the two people as he headed to the main counter.

“Welcome to Starlight Café! How can I help you?” A man with slightly long brown hair came up to the counter, smiling as big as he could. He had dimples, which was cute in itself. The top half of his hair was pulled back up into a tiny ponytail.

All in all, the man was cute as could be.

“Uh.” Jackson started off dumbly. “What’s the most sugary drink you have on the menu?”

“Ah! You’re one of _those_ customers. Don’t like bold and strong tastes, prefer sweetness over bitterness?” The man asked, looking up with a quirked eyebrow. Jackson laughed quietly before nodding.

“I’m Hongbin by the way.” The man told him as he pulled out a few cards from under the counter. “I usually wear my nametag but today, I left it on my dresser. I have been doing that lately to be honest.”

Hongbin slid a few cards towards Jackson. “Those are the most sugary are drinks are. I’d go with the triple shot latte with caramel and vanilla. You look like you need something to keep you awake.”

Jackson didn’t even look at the other four options, just selected the one that Hongbin had selected. Hongbin slid the card towards the other man working with him, a man with semi-dark red hair who barely glanced at the order before quickly set upon making the sugary drink.

“New to town?” Hongbin asked, leaning against the counter as he waited for the other man to finish he drink.

“Yeah. Just moved here two days ago. You lived here long?” Jackson asked, settling comfortably against the counter.

“Basically my entire life. I haven’t gone anywhere different; this is the only environment that I’m used to. Also, you sound kind of foreign, where are you from?” Hongbin inquired curiously.

“Originated from Hong Kong.” Hongbin gasped.

“Wow. It must be scary to be so far away from home, right?”

“A little bit, but it’s not bad.” As soon as the words were out of his mouth, his drink was being sat in front of him. Jackson hurried to get the money out of his pocket to pay for the drink when Hongbin spoke up.

“It’s on the house.” Jackson looked at Hongbin curiously. “You’re new in town and you’ve been the friendliest person to talk to me this morning, which is a feat on it’s on because it’s 7:45 AM and it’s also a Monday. So, the drink is on me. I’ll pay for it.”

Jackson tried to refuse, he did but Hongbin would hear nothing of it.

“If anything, think of it as a welcoming gift.” Hongbin said, grabbing a little business card and writing something on the back of it before stuffing that into Jackson’s hand.

“Come back again, okay? Have a good day!” Hongbin said as he waved at Jackson as he walked around to exit the shop.

He sipped leisurely on his latte as he turned the business card over so he could see what was wrote on the back.

**_If you ever need anything, text me! -Hongbin_ ** **_J_ **

The man had put his phone number at the end of the statement, drawing a tiny heart over the final four digits. Jackson smiled and put the card in his back pocket before he walked on towards the first campus building, where his dance class began at 8 o’clock.

He was just in the middle of stretching and finishing off the last of his latte when the class suddenly got louder. He just took the last sip of his drink when he looked up to find that the people making the loads of noise was no other than the group of boys he was hanging out with last night, including Hakyeon and Taekwoon.

He tilted his head, looking at them questioningly before shrugging his shoulders and went back to warming up.

“Ah, Jackson!” He heard Hakyeon say from across the room. He raised himself off of his behind, stretched as far up as he could before he looked at the group of boys who looked shocked to see him the room. He waved and walked towards them.

“Sup?” He asked simply, standing a foot or two away from the group of boys.

“I didn’t know you were in the class Jackson!” Mark exclaimed, coming over to throw an arm around Jackson’s shoulder.

“Well, you didn’t really ask for my schedule, now did you?” Jackson teased, poking Mark in the stomach.

Mark retaliated by pushing Jackson away playfully.

Another group of students came rushing into the room, only to bow in what looked like respect to the group of boys in front of him, just like how people did bowed to them last night.

Jackson went to ask Mark why they were doing that but the instructor came in, interrupting his thoughts.

“Alright, everybody, gather around!” The man said loudly, gesturing to the middle of the room.

As soon as the thirty people in the class were around the older male, he started putting people together.

“You, you, and you, go over to the corner.” The man said pointing to Jackson and two other males. Quietly, the three males moved to the corner and remained silent, although Jackson was itching to talk.

“Alright, as you can see, I put you guys in groups of three, so 10 groups total in the class. Your assignment is to come up with a dance to a song that fits your theme, which I will give to you, the best. I don’t care what song it is, it can be vulgar for all I care, just make sure it fits the theme. I’ll be handing out your theme’s in a moment, in the meanwhile, please get to know your partners for the project, seeing as you’ll be working with them for the next few weeks.”

Jackson turned to his neighbors and stuck his hand out. “I’m Jackson Wang, or as some know me, wild and sexy!” He said loudly, grinning as his partners looked startled to the maximum. “Just joking, call me Jackson.”

“I’m Kwon Soonyoung but most people call me Hoshi. I’m known as 10:10 around my friends.” The one with medium brown hair with slightly chubby cheeks said, smiling at Jackson’s antics.

“I’m Wen Junhui. Just call me Jun.” The tallest of the three spoke. He had blonde hair, just like Jackson, just a darker blonde rather than platinum blonde.

“It’s nice to meet you guys!” The pair in front of Jackson looked startled at something behind Jackson so of course, Jackson turned around to be met with the dead stares of Jaebum and Jinyoung.

“Alright.” Jackson turned back to Hoshi and Jun. “Can one of you please tell me what’s with them?” He asked, pointing at the group of boys behind him at the other side of the room. “People are bowing whenever we pass by, people act afraid of them, I don’t understand what’s going on.”

“Well.” Hoshi began after a moment of hesitation. “Jaebum and his group, GOT7, have basically run this entire city since a few years back.”

“But why?” Jackson asked.

“They’re a _gang._ ”

No one said anything after that, Jackson have gone silent himself.

“I don’t mean, that we think they’re a gang. We _know._ Jun and I, along with a few other friends, have stumbled upon them threatening a group of teenagers, even saw Mark hit one of them for back-talking Jaebum. When I say hit, I don’t mean a push or light tap on the face. _No._ He full on sucker punched him in the jaw. The kid was knocked unconscious on the spot.”

Jackson gasped quietly, letting a hand come up to his mouth.

“We’re not trying to dissuade you to hang out with them.”

“I’d not hang out with them.” Jun interjected. Hoshi glared at him from the side.

“We’re just saying be careful.”

“Wait, wait. If there’s six of them, why was the group called GOT ** _7_**?”

“Because, Jaebum and Jinyoung have another soulmate, who they are automatically going to try to get into the gang with them.”

Jackson about gagged. His soulmates were a part of a _gang_. Granted, he had not been given verified information but it all made sense. The respect for nothing, the scarred nature people had around the boys, the intimidating allure that they put out.

“What about Hakyeon and Taekwoon? They’re not in a gang as well, are they?” He whispered to the two boys.

“Not particularly but they’re not _not_ involved in things that involve gangs. They, along with four other boys, call themselves VIXX.”

Jackson shook his head slowly.

“This is way too much information to gather in a one moment.” Jun rested a hand against Jackson’s shoulder, a comforting weight in his crisis.

“If you want, you can always come over later and we can talk more about it, along with Seungcheol, who has been on the inside of the gangs before.”

Jackson was already nodding before Jun had finished speaking.

“Alright!” The man in the middle shouted. “Listen up, I’ve wrote all of your guys’ themes on the whiteboard in front of us, find you and your partners names, find your theme which is listed below that, and write a group name underneath of that. Figure out a team name before the end of the period, please.”

Jackson looked at the two before Jackson shouted out. “ **B Team!** ”

“Huh?” Jun asked.

“Meaning that we’re not going to be the perfect standard, we’re going to be underneath of that but we’ll be original.”  
Hoshi nodded in appreciation. “I like it; I like it a lot. What about you, Junnie-hyung?”

Jun shrugged.

“It’s cool with me.” Together, the three walked up to the board, the first group to walk up to the board, and Jackson walked passed about eight groups before he finally got to where his group was located at.

**Members: Kwon Soonyoung, Wen Junhui, and Jackson Wang**

**Theme: The act of falling in love**

**Name: _____**

 In the space where the group name was supposed to go, Jackson wrote out ‘B Team’ before exiting with Hoshi and Jun once again to walk back to their corner.

“When do you want to come over?” Jun asked, running a hand through his hair.

“Is tomorrow afternoon fine? I don’t have classes then and it’s probably the best time for me. But I can work something out if you guys aren’t available.” Jackson reassured them.

“It’s fine, come on over tomorrow at 2 PM. You know where the dorms are, right?” Jackson nodded, unsurely.

“You don’t, do you?” Jackson shook his head.

“Alright, just meet Hoshi at the beginning of the college campus tomorrow afternoon at 1:45 PM and he’ll lead you back here, alright?”

Jackson nodded before waving to Jun and Hoshi, laughing as he heard Hoshi whine to Jun, “Why is he so nice, hyung? He’s so nice! And funny!”

As soon as he laughed, the feeling of joy left his body.

His soulmates were in a gang.

Holy shit.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I wrote another chapter faster than I originally thought I was going to but meh. COME BACK SOON FOR THE NEXT CHAPTER.


	3. my friends don't walk, they run (skinny dip in rabbit holes for fun)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "I watched them pull the trigger and watched my sister die in front of my eyes. I’ll never forget the horror of what I saw go on in that room"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> LITERALLY, MY CHAPTER TITLES HAVE NOTHING TO DO WITH THE STORY, I JUST REALLY LIKE MELANIE MARTINEZ.  
> this is just Seungcheol basically, talking about what happened to him in his life.

Waving a hand to the blue-haired male, Jackson hurried to walk side by side with Hoshi. After walking a few moments with Hoshi, Jackson tried to spike up a conversation.

“Soooo…”

Hoshi stared at him blankly.

“How’s it going?” Jackson spoke in English before quickly returning to speaking to Korean.

“It’s alright, for now. Alright, more than just three people are at the apartment right now, okay? I mean, _a lot_ more than three. Our entire group of friends came over when we told them about your situation.” Hoshi interjected, his voice a little timid.

“Uh. How many people is _a lot_ exactly?”

“Like five. Or thirteen. You’ll see.”

Jackson stumbled over his words. “T-thirteen? THIRTEEN! Who has a group of friends of thirteen people who are extremely close?”

Hoshi rolled his eyes playfully before the pair walked in silence the rest of the way to the apartment.

Once inside said apartment, Jackson was met with many different versions of ‘Hello’.

“YO, MAN, WASSUP?” Someone yelled to him from across the room in a stereotypical American voice.

“Hi.” Someone on the couch quietly said to him.

“SEUNGCHEOL STOP EATING MY FOOD, and hello new guy! Jackson, right?”

“I’m hungry, fight me. ‘Sup Jackson?”

“Hyung~! Who’s standing in our doorway?”

“FOOOOOOD…Wait…That’s not food, that’s a human.”

“NEW PEOPLE.”

“We already have thirteen people in this group of friends, do we really need to add another one?”

 “Seungkwan, stop trying to be American, you’ll never pass for one. Who is that, by the way?”

“HELLO PERSON.”

“…”

“Jackson, glad to see you came by!”

“If you all don’t shut up; I will slam my new guitar in your faces.”

A few seconds went by before the person who said the last thing lifted his face off of the couch in the room and looked up at Jackson.

He nodded his head, his pink hair bouncing with him. “Sup? I’m Jihoon. You’re Jackson, right? Hoshi wouldn’t shut up about you.”

“Jihoon-ah!” Hoshi exclaimed, a blush forming on his cheeks.

“I’m Jeonghan! It’s nice to meet you Jackson-ssi!” A man with long hair poked his head around the corner before another head popped out around his.

“I’m Seungcheol! I’ll be there in a minute so we can talk about you-know-what.”

After that, everyone started to introduce themselves. There was Hansol, who was actually born in America but moved to Korea. There was Minghao, who was from China and seemed very tiny. Jun was also from China, which Jackson failed to notice yesterday. There was Chan, the youngest, who was dancing Michael Jackson in the background.

There was Seungkwan, who tried his best to speak English the entire time when getting to know Jackson but he failed miserably. There was Joshua, who was also American who also moved to Korea a few years back. There was Wonwoo, who was blank-faced the first five minutes before his face actually started to show emotion.

There was Mingyu, who clung to Wonwoo like a koala even though he was way taller. There was also Seokmin, who was impersonating a pigeon whenever Jackson got around to greeting him.

After greeting everyone, Jackson bowed and sat beside Seokmin, who openly tried to get him to laugh.

After lounging around with the eleven other guys, Seungcheol and Jeonghan came from the another room, what Jackson assumed to be the kitchen, with bowls of chips and junk food in their arms. Seungcheol was also carrying a cooler with him, which he sat on the ground and opened it to reveal lots of drinks inside.

After settling down, Seungcheol turned to Jackson.

“So, you’re hanging out with GOT7?”

“Well, I mean, my best friend Mark is apparently in that group. I only know them from Mark, who has been my friend for years. I thought he’d tell me something like this.”

“Yeah, well, gangs are really discussed openly here in South Korea.” Seungcheol leaned in. “Let me just say one thing, they’re basically the most dangerous group around here, if you don’t count Big Bang, who runs the show in most major cities in this country.”

“Hoshi and Jun said that you’ve been on the inside of the gangs before.”

Seungcheol looked at the other boys first, who were too preoccupied with yelling and fighting about what movie they were watching, before he sighed and turned back to Jackson.

“I had a debt to repay a few years back. My father had got himself into a huge debt of money he had ‘loaned’ from one of the gangs, which just happened to be the biggest gang at the time, EXO. EXO was known for their brutal murders and making them look like accidents, staging someone’s death, they were not to be messed with. My father refused to repay the debt though, so instead of going after him, they came after my mother, my younger sister, and myself.

“They had us in a room. One of them, I believe his name was Lay, was pointing a gun in between my sister’s eyes while the another one, Kai, had a hold on my mother so tight that I could see his knuckles turning white from across the room. I was held in a chokehold position by a man named Chanyeol since I had been trying to escape since they had captured us.

“I watched them pull the trigger and watched my sister die in front of my eyes. I’ll never forget the horror of what I saw go on in that room. They turned to my mother next, leaving my sister to bleed out on the floor. They pointed the gun at her but before they could even think about hurting her any further, I remember myself screaming out, ‘I’ll do anything! Don’t hurt her, please!’. I remember relaxing in the hold, no longer holding myself up.

“The man, Chanyeol, yanked me up and dragged me in front of the head man of the gang. Suho. He looked like a fairly normal guy. No scars or anything on his face, friendly smile. He mockingly had smiled at me, before whispering in a timidly calm voice, ‘Anything?’, just like he was a child asking an unserious question.

“I had nodded my head so quick, I felt like I had got whiplash. Suho raised a hand to the guys who were holding my mother. He said to them, ‘Take her home. We don’t need to do any further harm’. They stopped holding her so tightly and the kindest looking one, Baekhyun, grabbed her hand and lead her out of the room gently.

“Suho came up to me and grabbed my chin before tilting my face around. He said to Chanyeol without moving his head, ‘Mark him’ before he looked me in my eyes and said in a quiet tone, ‘Welcome to Hell, kid’.

“The next thing I knew, I was being yanked harshly back into Chanyeol and someone else, Chen, was approaching me was a red hot iron with some symbol attached to it. I then had realized that they were going to brand me. And brand me they did.”

Seungcheol stood up in the almost dark room and pulled up his shirt, showing his right side where an **EXO** resided on his hip. Jackson looked up at Seungcheol with an unasked question and Seungcheol nodded and whisper, “Go ahead.”

Jackson raised a hand timidly, gently stroking his fingers over the burnt skin, which would fade but would never leave Seungcheol at all.

“I’m so sorry.” Jackson whispered hoarsely.

Seungcheol smiled sadly.

“But that’s not even it. I thought I was just going to their wingman or something like that. They sent me on missions, sometimes with other members but most of the time, I was working solo. My missions were sometimes easy, sell some drugs and report the money back to HQ, capture a man and bring him back to HQ, stalk someone and report back to HQ. Sometimes, the job was a little messier.

“I remember when I first killed someone. He was barely in his early thirties, a young man with a beautiful wife and a three-year-old son. I snuck into his house and after I put a silencer on the gun EXO had given me, I shot him in his temple.

“The man was killed over 500 dollars. **Five hundred dollars** and the man lost his life. That’s kind of really sad, right? I didn’t stop at the murder. I murdered at least another twenty before I had had enough.

“I was eighteen at this time now, I began the stupid missions when I was fifteen so I had been doing the damn jobs for near three years by then. I walked back into HQ with so much adrenaline in my system, the gun in my hand was shaking.

“I barely even thought about it when I put the gun to the back of Suho’s head and pulled the trigger.”

Seungcheol paused and gave a rueful laugh.

“He died mid-laughter. Chanyeol was in front of him, who lost his smile almost as quickly as Suho dropped. He tried to get to his gun in his pocket quickly but I was ready before he even knew I was coming. He dropped to the floor almost as quickly as Suho did.

“I went through the rest of HQ, shooting person after person. Chen, Sehun, Baekhyun, Xiumin, Lay, Kai, and lastly D.O. D.O gave up a fight though, nearly bested me before I managed to slip out my knife that was hidden up my sleeve and I stabbed him right in the atrial valve of his heart. He bled out profusely on top of me. I couldn’t find it in me to care that I was showered on by the blood of my enemy. I basked in the feeling of being free.

“After laying on the dirty floor for a few more minutes, I may my way to the safe, where Suho was stupid enough to let everyone in HQ know the fucking password for it. I opened it and hallelujah, there was _stacks_ of cash and guns and duffel bags full of ammo and more guns. I took as much as could with me in a duffel bag, which used to be full of guns and ammo before I removed said items from the bag.

“After I left HQ, I put the bag on the sidewalk before walking back inside and grabbing a can of gas off of one of the shelfs in the basement. I started pouring the gas everywhere, the empty rooms, the bodies, the left over cash and guns, the ammo, I poured it everywhere. After being satisfied with that, I left HQ for the last time, lit a match, threw it through the open door and watched as the place went up in flames.

“So. Yeah. I was a part of a gang. Not voluntarily. I was forced. I got out and I’m never going back in. I’ve got PTSD, depression, anxiety and more from being involved in that shit. My advice to you Jackson is to never, _ever, ever_ get involved with any type of gang. I don’t care if they happen to be your fucking brother, sister, soulmate, best friend, don’t join a gang. It’s not worth the scars that it comes with.” Seungcheol added harshly, sternly, looking Jackson straight in the eyes.

Jackson nodded quickly. He never wanted to join a gang, he wasn’t going to start now.

“I know all of this is fresh and a lot of information, but you can always talk to me at any time if anything happens, ya know?” Seungcheol asked, throwing an arm around Jackson’s shoulders. “Don’t be a stranger and ignore us. The thirteen of us will be your protectors, you hear? I don’t care if we happen to be your dongsaengs, we can take care of ourselves and we can definitely take care of you. We may have just meet you but Hoshi seems taken with you, Jun and Minghao like your company, so there’s no way you’re going to be rid of us at any time.” Seungcheol said in a brighter tone that he had before, messing up Jackson’s hair as Jackson squawked at him.

Maybe it wasn’t the group of friends that Jackson was originally looking for but he can’t see where he could go wrong with gaining new people to hang around.

It was better than hanging around a gang, right?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> you guys, this is going to be a very plot twisty story, js.


	4. apples aren't always appropriate apologizes, butterscotch and bubblegum drops are bittersweet to me

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “SON OF A BITCH, FUCK, THAT HURT. GOD DAMN IT.” Jackson let out a furious string of curse words loudly in English as his nose throbbed from being put back into place. He would still need to go to the doctor to get a second adjustment but for now, this would have to work.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this took a little longer to post but school is KICKING MY BOOTAY

The next few days was kind of weird. Jackson went to college for his few courses, stopped by the café on campus every morning to say hello to Hongbin and the other guy, whose name was Ravi, then he went back to Hoshi’s dorm complex. Usually, there was most of the group of friends was already in the dorm so they, Hoshi and Jun along with Jackson himself, would have to find an empty part of the complex to start practicing for their song and dance routine.

They decided to dance to a combination of three songs. The songs were ‘This Love’ by Shinhwa, ‘Lucifer’ by Shinee, and ‘Mr Chu’ by APink. They would start out with Lucifer, lead into This Love, and end with Mr Chu. They had already perfected the first half of Lucifer, which all of the song they would be dancing to, and they were now on their way to learning This Love.

Two weeks after the conference between Jackson and Seungcheol, the tension in the air was really thick. Jackson barely saw Jinyoung or Jaebum, nor any other members of GOT7. Seungcheol, Jeonghan, and Seokmin would walk him to and from classes, making sure to include him in their tiny (not that tiny) group of friends.

At the moment, Jackson was leaving yet another dance practice with Hoshi and Jun. He had just waved to the duo before he turned and started walking in the opposite direction towards his apartment complex. Jackson heard the duo bid him goodbye cheerfully as they headed back to their own dorm.

He had only gotten a few blocks away from the practice room when he heard footsteps behind him. Turning slightly, he was able to catch that there was more than one person trailing him. Sighing, Jackson gripped his back tighter and walked a little faster.

The footsteps sped up.

Jackson turned a corner. So did the group.

Sooner than he expected, he was in front of his apartment complex but before he went inside where it was safe, he slowed his steps. He listened to the footsteps behind him yet they didn’t slow. If anything, they sped up. Releasing the grip that he had on his bag, Jackson clenched his right hand tightly, forming a fist, and as soon as the person got close enough, he turned on his heel and landed his fist right into the guy’s chin.

The stranger flew backwards, holding his chin. There were four other guys behind him. Two of them launched themselves forward at Jackson, hands stretched outwards. Jackson stepped back and grabbed the closest wrist that was reaching for him tightly before turning on his heel once again and flipping said person over his shoulder.

The man landed on the group roughly, groaning as his shoulder knocked painfully into the curb of the road. The other man who had launched himself at Jackson managed to hit Jackson in the face and chest a couple of times before Jackson was able to retaliate and strike back. Jackson flung his leg out and caught the other against his knee, making him stumble. Jackson quickly gripped the person’s neck in his hands and flung him behind him, knocking him into the guy he had previously thrown to the ground.

One of the other guys threw a punch at Jackson and caught him in the nose. Jackson felt the exact moment his nose broke because all the sudden, blood was gushing everywhere. Despite the pain he felt, he threw his right hand out and grabbed mystery man’s neck before he started to squeeze. A pair of hands, who he assumed to belong to the man he was currently strangling, grabbed the hand that was squeezing his airway.

Something metal was put to the back of Jackson’s head.

“Stop. Or I’ll blow a hole right through your skull.” The deep baritone voice said slowly. Jackson froze and then slowly released the man he had been strangling. The man took in a couple of deep breaths of air and coughed while rubbing his throat.

“Stop scaring the poor boy, T.”

“He tried to strangle Y and you expect me to be okay with this?”

“Well, we were trying to injure him first so he had a reason to try and attack us all.”

“No one asked for your opinion S.”

“No one asked for yours either D. I was the one being strangled, shouldn’t I have a say in this.”

“I’m the leader of this group, I have final say and I say we let the boy go. He stood against us and put up a decent fight.”

“As you wish, J.”

The cold metal was removed from the back of Jackson’s head and he let out a breath of air he didn’t know he had been holding.

A hand patted his shoulder.

“At least you know how to defend yourself, kid.”

The group slowly walked past him, one was still rubbing his throat as the others poked fun at said man.

Jackson stared bewilderedly at the group as they walked farther and farther away. That was it? They just wanted to injure someone and once he started to put up a decent fight, they gave him the go to live? That’s fucked up.

Jackson let out a low groan as he touched his nose. He picked up his bag that had fallen to the ground amid the fight and slowly and painfully made his way into his apartment.

As soon as he was inside the apartment, he let his bag fall harshly to the ground and let out a loud groan. After sulking for a few moments about the pain he was feeling, he made his way to the bathroom where he finally got a look at himself before he groaned once again.

There were definitely purple rings forming around both of his eyes, all because of the broken nose he had received. He also had a split lip and a cut on his temple. Lifting up his shirt, he sighed sadly as he took in the bruises and dark red spots that had taken residence on his abdomen and lower back. He lowered his shirt before he raised both of his hands to his nose. He breathed in and out quickly before he snapped the nose back into the right position.

It hurt like a bitch.

“SON OF A BITCH, FUCK, THAT HURT. GOD DAMN IT.” Jackson let out a furious string of curse words loudly in English as his nose throbbed from being put back into place. He would still need to go to the doctor to get a second adjustment but for now, this would have to work.

_I’m going to look like a mess tomorrow morning but right now, I could care less._

* * *

 

Jackson was right, he looked like an absolute train wreck. The bruises under his eyes had gotten darker, his nose looked alright, a little swollen but it would have to wait until after courses when he had his doctor appointment set up. The bruises on his chest had developed into splotches and patches of dark blue, black, and purple. The cut on his temple and his split lip had scabbed over. They were still painful though.

Pulling out his makeup bag, Jackson thanked the Gods above for giving him concealer and color correction. He applied the yellow color corrector under his eyes and around his nose before he started to slather on the concealer. He rubbed in the first layer, then a second, and a third under his eyes. His face had two layers of concealer. While he had concealed the injuries well enough, the cut and split lip were still visible and if you looked closely, you could see a difference in color under his eyes and the rest of his skin.

Cursing, he went into his room and pulled out a dark pair of sunglasses before he headed back to the bathroom to apply a small bandage on his temple. After Jackson had put on a black tee shirt, black sweatpants, a pair of black shoes, and had slid on a black snapback, he headed out the door with his bag and phone.

Unlocking his phone, he noticed he had thirteen messages, five voicemails, and fifteen missed calls.

After scrolling through the missed texts and listening to the voicemails on his walk to college, he was able to deduce that someone had witnessed the fight between him and the so called ‘Big Bang’. The biggest gang in the country of South Korea.

Luckily, all the messages were from his group of friends and not VIXX or GOT7, because he didn’t want to deal with any other gangs.

Today, he walked passed the café, not feeling like getting a coffee or a hot chocolate. He went straight to the dance classroom where he laid his bag down on the ground in front of the mirrors which is where he sat as well.

It was 7:40 AM, so he was the only one in the classroom. For the next fifteen minutes, he scrolled through his Twitter and Instagram and was surprised to see a post about him. It was posted by a _Youngbae_ , who had typed a caption of ‘ _Was surprised that the new meat in Seoul was able to get his hands around my throat. Good job buddy. We have our eyes on you. (;’_

Jackson groaned internally, because this is just what he needed. A gang out for him.

He lifted his head and watched as the classroom grew more crowded. Finally, GOT7 entered the room with Hakyeon and Taekwoon and all eight pairs of eyes flew to Jackson who stared back confidently at them. Hoshi and Jun came behind them worriedly before their eyes landed on Jackson.

“AH JACKSON YOU’RE ALRIGHT!” Hoshi called out relieved. The pair moved quickly to Jackson who accepted their affections without any hesitation.

“Why wouldn’t he be alright?” Jaebum called out cautiously. Hoshi and Jun turned around and the trio looked at the eight people in front of him who stared at Jackson worriedly.

“Because we fought him last night.” A voice sounded from behind the group of people. Jaebum and Jinyoung turned their focus to the man who stood in between the two groups. The man had a bruise in the shape of a hand on the right side of his neck.

“Y. Youngbae, isn’t it?” Jackson spoke up as he looked dully at the man.

The man grinned ruefully. “Already know about me?”

Jackson scoffed. “It’s hard not to when you posted about last night on Instagram.”

“Touché. Good job defending yourself against three of us last night, by the way. If you’re interested, we’d like to talk to you one-on-one later on when you’re free. Also, how’s the nose?”

Jackson gritted his teeth. As if he’d work with the people who tried to injure him badly last night. “I’m not interested. My nose is fine, just swollen.”

“What a pity, you could have benefited us.” Youngbae said mockingly before he walked away from the group.

There was silence.

“You fought _Youngbae_? From _Big Bang_?” He heard Mark shrill at him.

“Well…” Jackson said slowly. “Not only him. I think the others was S and D, and the one who eventually put a gun to my head was T? I’m not all that sure. I punched J in the face first though, so that was fun.” Jackson shrugged. His glasses were snatched off his face by Jun.

“Oh, Jackson.” He whispered pitifully. He looked at the boys across from him, who stared back at him sadly and angrily.

“It’s no big deal. I’m going to have to get used to being around gangs, now aren’t I?” Jackson conveyed obviously to the group of boys across from him who then looked down guiltily.

“We were going to tell you, Jackson-ah.” He heard Jaebum whisper.

“We just didn’t know how to tell you.” Mark said.

“It doesn’t matter. I don’t care. Just don’t bother. I don’t want to be around a gang. Don’t come around me until either the gang is gone or you’ve cleaned up your act a little.” He growled at the boys. He pushed past the boys before stopping his tracks.

“Mark.”

“Yes?” Mark answered hopefully.

“If I had known you were involved in a gang, I would have never bothered to transfer to Seoul. This is not what I expected when I moved to this country.” He started walking away once again, only this time, he could have sworn he heard hearts breaking, more than one, as he walked farther and farther away.


	5. places, places, get in your places and then throw on your dress and put on your doll faces

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Because I can tell that you don’t want a relationship and just want some way to release some steam. The same goes for me. I have a soulmate, just they’re pissing me off and I want to release some energy right now. Am I right?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have no clue where I'm going with this story, help.

Two weeks after getting into a brawl with Big Bang, Jackson’s face was no longer ridden with deep bruises and his chest was no longer looking like he had been in a car accident. His nose now had a very teeny tiny bump on it from where it was broken and it was still in the process of healing. In those two weeks, he had not seen any members of _GOT7_ nor have they tried to get in contact with him.

In all honesty, Jackson was thinking about transferring back to Hong Kong.

“But Mommy, this place is so different from what I’m used to. I miss you as well, don’t you miss me?” Jackson whined pitifully into his phone as he laid on his bed in his apartment.

“Of course I miss you darling, but everything is difficult as you try something new. You’ll get adjusted to the environment and the people soon enough. I just want you to go places and go far in the world.”

“Mommyyyy~” Jackson dragged the word on.

“I say that you should stay Jackson. It’s a good opportunity and you shouldn’t let it pass you by, no matter what the people who you trusted are. I have to go Jacksonnie, be good alright? I love you!”

“I love you too, Mommy. Be safe!” With a ‘ _mwah’_ said into the phone for his mom, Jackson sadly ended the call. He sighed and dropped his phone beside him before turning onto his stomach and screaming into his pillow.

“Angry or nah?” He heard Sanghyuk say as he entered the room. Jackson just grunted and didn’t say anything in reply.

“Hey, you alright?”

Jackson shook his head slightly before just deciding on shrugging his shoulders.

A hand landed gently on his shoulder. “I don’t know what’s been bugging you these past few weeks, but do you want to come out and hang out with my friends and I? You don’t have to, no need to feel obligated.”

Jackson already had gotten up off the bed by the time Sanghyuk was halfway through speaking. “I need to get out, so I’ll go out.”

Sanghyuk smiled. “Great! It’s just going to be Hongbin, Hakyeon, Taekwoon, Jaehwan, and myself. Ravi can’t make it tonight, has to work double shifts at the café on campus.”

Jackson just nodded as he went to his closet. He knew Hakyeon and Taekwoon were in a gang, so he assumed the other four were involved as well. But he knew from Seungcheol that VIXX, the group that Hakyeon and Taekwoon were in, wasn’t dangerous. They were protectors while GOT7 was a menace.

After barely searching through his closet, he pulled out a black long-sleeved shirt, a pair of black ripped skinny jeans, and a nice pair of black shoes. After slipping on the clothes and pulling on a few pieces of jewelry, he completed the look with slicking back his blonde hair.

Sanghyuk came back into Jackson’s room about fifteen minutes later proclaiming “Jackson-hyung, we’re leaving in a few minutes. Are you ready?”

There was silence and then Sanghyuk spoke up.

“Damn, boy, you look fly as a kite. Looking smoking hot in other words.  Come on, let’s get going.”

Thirty minutes later and Jackson found himself standing awkwardly beside the other five males, who were drinking without taking a rest and dancing to every song that came on.

Jackson sighed once again and took a small swig of his drink. He was about to pay for his drink and leave when a hand slid a ten-dollar bill across the counter.

“Paying for his drink.” The voice said/shouted at the bartender. Jackson couldn’t really tell since the music was so loud in the club. A hand grasped his wrist and tugged him towards the entry of the club.

Jackson was about to protest and demand to be let go when the man looked behind him and smirked. He was the man from the café, Ravi. His hair was now dark silver though. His eyes were lined in kohl eyeliner and his lips seemed to stay quirked in a smirk.

“Follow me.” Ravi yelled, not letting go of Jackson’s hand as he practically drug Jackson out of the night club.

Jackson followed behind the man mutely, not saying anything but not protesting. Eventually, the man walked up to a car, assumedly his, and gestured for Jackson to get in.

“Why should I?” Jackson asked, crossing his arms.

“Because I can tell that you don’t want a relationship and just want some way to release some steam. The same goes for me. I have a soulmate, just they’re pissing me off and I want to release some energy right now. Am I right?” Jackson mutely nodded at the man’s words and slowly got into the car with caution.

“I’m not going to kill you.” Ravi said loudly as he got into the driver’s side of the car.

“Really? How do I know that?”

“One, you’re hot. Two, I definitely want to hit that. Three, your soulmates would kill me and I really don’t want to die.”

“You know my soulmates?”

“Everyone knows your soulmates. Like, _everyone_.”

“And you’re still going to ‘have your way with me’?”

“Hell yeah. I might get roughed up for this but I won’t die at least.”

“True.” Jackson muttered.

He tapped his fingers along the dashboard as Ravi drove to, what Jackson assumed, his apartment.

Fifteen minutes later, Jackson was being pushed against a wall and his neck was being ravished.

Let’s just say he had a _really, really_ good night.

* * *

 

When Jackson woke up, it was still dark outside. Ravi was still snoring peacefully next to him, completely knocked out. Sighing internally, Jackson got up from the bed, wincing as he did so.

He was going to be sore for the next few days.

Jackson grabbed his clothes that were all over the floor and headed to the bathroom quietly. Once shutting the door, he turned on the light and almost lost his shit when he saw what he looked like. His neck, which had been clear as water last night, now looked like it had been mauled by a wolf. Also, the sides of his body and his ass were bruised by hands, mouth, and teeth.

He was also pretty sure he was limping slightly.

Jackson slid on his clothes, not bothering to leave a note, and left Ravi’s apartment as quick as he could. It was early morning and somewhat chilly yet Jackson had no jacket to protect himself from the cold.

Jackson just sighed once more and headed quietly yet quickly to his apartment.

* * *

 

Waking up the same morning but later in the day was absolute hell for Jackson. Not only did he feel like he had been hit by a train but the bruises on his neck were deeper in color. Cursing, Jackson dug out an almost empty bottle of concealer and weakly tried to cover up the hickey’s and gave up after ten minutes. The color was dulled but you could definitely still tell that they were there.

Slipping on a pair of sweatpants and a random tee shirt, Jackson hastily grabbed his jacket, phone, and wallet before walking extremely slow to the main college campus.

Of course, he just had to bump into Jaebum and Jinyoung, along with the other four, on the way to class.

Jackson’s shoulder knocked with someone else’s. He heard the person curse.

“Why, you little insolent child.” The man seethed before Jackson saw his hand try to come up to smack him. Jackson quickly grabbed his hand, Jinyoung’s hand, and tightly wrapped his hand around the fingers before lifting his head and staring dead straight into the man’s eyes.

Jinyoung grew quiet quickly.

“Jackson. I didn’t know it was you.” He weakly explained. Jackson huffed out a sarcastic laugh before throwing his hand away from himself.

“I don’t care.” He seethed as he walked past.

A hand grabbed his wrist and whirled him around. As Jackson spun, his right arm swung backwards and he leveled it, readying himself to punch someone straight in the face.

It was Jaebum. He looked like he was about to say something that needed to be said before his eyes landed on the marks on Jackson’s neck.

Jackson saw his jaw clench extremely tightly.

“What are those from?” He heard Jaebum ask through gritted teeth.

“Oh, these?” Jackson asks, nonchalantly. He raised one hand and ran his fingers over the still sore marks. “It’s nothing you need to know about.”

Jackson saw Jinyoung’s head peak around Jaebum before Jackson saw Jinyoung’s eyes squint up and get tense.

“Jackson.” Jaebum practically growled.

“Jaebum. I suggest you back the _fuck_ up, right now.” Jackson said, seething with anger.

“Who gave you those marks, Jackson? Tell me, right now or I swear to _god_ I will-.”

“What will you do, huh?” Jackson got up in Jaebum’s face. Their noses were touching and both of their chests were heaving. “Just what will you do? Because whatever you try to do to them, I’ll be sure to do it back to, double the pain. Soulmates be damned, I will hurt you.”

“No you won’t.” Jinyoung said, smirking. “You wouldn’t join Big Bang; you can’t hurt a fly.”

“Oh yeah?” Jackson said. “Why is that I called up Youngbae and agreed to join Big Bang then?” Jackson was full on bluffing right now but they didn’t know that.

Jackson watched as all six of their eyes grew wide.

“You didn’t.”

“I did.”

“No. I know you Jackson, you wouldn’t have done it.” Mark inputted.

“Apparently, you don’t fucking know me Tuan, or else you wouldn’t have underestimated me. Just like how I used to think that I knew you but that was big fucking lie, now wasn’t it?”

Mark put his head down in disappointment.

“Now, listen here _GOT **6.** ” _Jackson stressed the six of the name. He was not going to be involved with them. “The next time you try to raise a hand to me or try to make me feel ignorant, hell, if you even speak to me, I will do something I will not regret.”

Seeing the six boys flinch as Jackson seethed at them did nothing to soothe his anger. If anything, it fueled it. How dare they act as the victims? They don’t deserve to be put into the innocent position.

Jackson turned on his heel and pulled out his phone as he walked to the campus and away from the others. Clicking on the Instagram app, he searched Youngbae and clicked ‘send message’.

_Jacksonwang852g7: Hey, can we talk?_

___youngbae__: The last time I tried to speak to you, you blew me off._

_Jacksonwang852g7: Things have changed._

___youngbae__: Café on Campus, 7:00 PM. No later. Be there._

_Jacksonwang852g7: Gotcha._

* * *

“Let me get this straight. You want to join Big Bang now because your soulmates are complete and total assholes and you sort of bluffed to them that you were already in Big Bang? Did I miss anything?”

“Well, you missed the part where they got mad because I had sex but that’s not important. Can I join?”

Youngbae hummed. “I don’t see a problem with it. I hadn’t told Jiyong that you had said no yet, so as far as he knows, you were still deciding. T.O.P likes your spark, Seungri liked your sassiness, and Daesung liked your moves when you fought, although you were a little sloppy but no worries, we’ll fix that. I like your style.”

A few moments of silence passed.

“You can join if you want kid. Just now that once you’re in, that’s it. No going back, nothing. You’re in for life.”

Jackson didn’t hesitate.

“I’m in.”

He knew he was going to regret this.


	6. if you weren't born with it, you buy a couple of ornaments (just be sure to read the warning kids, cause pretty sure you'll get bored of it)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A hand grabbed his own hands and twisted them behind his back. Metal latched around his wrists.
> 
> Something was shoved over his mouth and nose. It smelled sickly sweet.

Being in a gang was weird. Especially to Jackson. He came into the group, thinking that everyone was going to be hard as shit on him but in reality, everyone was calm and gentle. Youngbae and Seungri immediately brought him into the group, slowly brought him to terms with the gang and how it worked while Daesung and T.O.P trained him how to fight properly. Also, Jiyong, the leader of the gang, assigned him to be their running man. That meant that for the time being, he did drug runs. He wouldn’t buy, use, or trade the dope but he’d sell it, especially overpriced if it was a newcomer who wasn’t aware of the drug prices.

He had been a total of five drug runs so far and he had earned over $100 dollars than he needed to be in good shape. Jackson was on his sixth drug run, the cocaine resting delicately in the pocket of his jacket in a small baggie. Youngbae was with him for this run. Youngbae had reached his arm over Jackson’s head to bring him into a headlock when his eyes locked onto his previous friends.

“Jackson.” Hakyeon just happened to be there with them, along with Taekwoon, Hongbin, and Hyuk. He looked at Jackson in disappointment and although Jackson felt slightly ashamed for joining the gang, he refused to let it show.

“Cha.” Jackson let a stiff reply out, slowly slipping Youngbae’s arm off his shoulders. Within seconds, Jackson realized that Youngbae has positioned himself in such a way that he was standing partially in front of Jackson, as if he was _protecting_ Jackson. Jackson stepped closer up to Youngbae and rested a hand lightly on the small of his back.

Almost immediately, Youngbae slightly relaxed.

“Ouch, already back to formality’s, huh Jackson?” He heard Hakyeon rigidly say back.

“Did you have a reason to speak to me?” Jackson bit at him.

“He’s your hyung, Jackson, respect him.” Jackson heard Mark say in a shocking tone, as if he never expected Jackson to say something like that.

“What respect? I don’t respect those who are lower than me.”

He had to act this way.

If he wanted to be in the group, he had to act like he was better than everyone although they all were human.

* * *

_“You understand that gangs work really differently than what you think, right?” Seungri asked._

_“How so?”_

_“We act like we’re better than everyone on the streets, everyone who is struggling for a living but in reality, we’re all the same. We’re just trying to survive. We’re not bad people, not really. People think we are but we actually aren’t. We have to take a stand and prove that we can take care of ourselves but we also help those.”_

_Jackson was silent._

_“The money we’ve received from drug runs, looting, debts, some may go to funds, food, and more dope but a lot of it goes towards charity’s or to our families or sometimes we just randomly surprise people with a bag of money on their front step. We aren’t bad people.”_

_Seungri looked into Jackson’s eyes, his own burning bright with emotion._

_“If you understand nothing, I just want you to understand this. We’re not bad people. Just have poor circumstances to have to survive by.”_

_Moments went by._

_“I don’t believe you guys are bad.” Seungri turned to Jackson._

_“Since the moment that I joined, you guys have diligently tried to get me involved in the gang and helped me get used to an entirely new environment. A lot of people wouldn’t have. Plus, I’ve seen Youngbae, Daesung, and yourself going to the Boys Foster Care home in downtown Seoul. I’ve seen you three play with the boys there, playing tag or kickball or heroes & villains. I’ve seen you spend so much money on those boys and you guys not even care about how much you spend. **Only good people would do that**.”_

_“Regardless.” Seungri said, a little shocked that Jackson had paid that much attention to details. “Even though we’re all the same, we have to act like we’re better so that people don’t try to overcome us. So that we’re not seen as losers but as the top dogs instead. You get me?”_

* * *

 

He heard gasps from around him.

“You’ve already changed so much and it’s not even been a month.” Taekwoon whispered.

“I didn’t change. I just became who I really am.”

“No.” Jinyoung said. “You _changed._ You’re not Jackson anymore, you’re Jia Er. No longer are you _our_ Jackson Wang.”

Jackson interrupted Jinyoung. “I was **never** your Jackson. I never was and I never will be.”

Jaebum scoffed. “Funny, because I remembered you being mad at us for being in a gang and look, you’re in one yourself now.”

Jackson looked directly at Jaebum. “I don’t have to explain myself to you.”

Jackson looked over the group of people before his eyes landed on Sanghyuk and Hongbin.

“I’m sorry Jackson but I really don’t want to room with an enemy of another gang…Hongbin already offered to take your place.”

Jackson let out a sarcastic laugh. “Can’t believe I expected you to be a little understanding Sanghyuk. Whatever.”

Jackson looked at Hongbin. “I feel sorry for you.”

“Why? Sanghyukkie is a great roommate.”

“Not for that. You should pay more attention to your soulmate because you’re losing him. Wonshik? Pay attention to him or he’s going to be a goner.”

Jackson watched as Hongbin’s eyes went wide. “How’d you know that?”

Jackson gestured to his neck and then winked. Hongbin’s eyes went dark.

“You didn’t.”

Jackson smacked his lips at Hongbin.

Hongbin surged forward only for Taekwoon and Hakyeon to hold him.

“I can’t believe you Jackson.” Taekwoon said sadly.

“I don’t care. Now if you excuse me.” Jackson said with a tone of indifference, grabbed Youngbae’s hand before leading him away from the group of boys.

The pair made small talk until they came across another group of boys. Those who had warned Jackson about getting involved with gangs.

“Jackson, what’s up, my man?” He heard Hansol yell as himself, Jeonghan, Hoshi, and Jihoon came closer to Jackson and Youngbae.

“Excuse us.” Youngbae said, trying to be polite.

“Jackson?” They whispered confusedly and in disbelief.

Jackson just shook his head and continued walking beside Youngbae.

* * *

 

Jackson swiped his hair off of his forehead from where it was sticking due to sweat. He had just finished a match with T.O.P in the gym. Although he had only been in the gang for a few months now, he had made a name for himself.

No longer was he just the drug runner but he actively participated in meetings between rival gangs, disputes, and he was now a part of the resistance of Big Bang.

“You’ve found your place in this gang, haven’t you Jackson-ah?”

“Yeah, I guess I have.” He smiled at T.O.P before trying to pull him down into a headlock. T.O.P laughed as he dodged Jackson’s attempt and playfully hit Jackson’s arm before wrapping his arms around the younger man.

“I’m glad to have you on the team, Jackson. I don’t regret hitting you.”

“Wow, that’s a weird appreciation for me.”

“Why, you little!” T.O.P wrapped his arm around Jackson’s neck and brought him into a headlock before messing up his hair and letting him go.

“I have to return home here soon, let’s do this again, yeah?” T.O.P said, jutting his chin up a little bit as he patted Jackson’s shoulder.

“Definitely. Have a safe trip home hyung!” Jackson said with a smile.

“Oh, Jackson?”

“Yeah?”

“You can call me Seunghyun, not T.O.P when we’re in private. Not a lot of people know my real name Jackson. This means that I’m trusting you.”

Jackson nodded his head. “Thank you, Seunghyun-hyung.”

“Good night, Jackson-ah.”

Then Jackson was left all alone in the gym. All he could hear was the buzz of electricity and the sound of rain pounding outside. Wrapping up his hands, Jackson made his way to the punching bag and just let himself go at it.

You see, after being in the gang for a few months now, five to be exact, Jackson had been a very active member of the gang. He liked being a big part of the gang even if he got a little frustrated or angry with some of things that happened in the gang.

Jackson doesn’t like threatening people.

He doesn’t like stealing from others.

He doesn’t like hurting people.

But being the gang came along with having to do some of that stuff. Within a few months, Jackson became the biggest thief in all of South Korea under the alias of ‘Poetical’. Being a thief in nothing to be proud of but his hyungs appreciated how much effort he put into the gang.

Another bad part of being in the gang was losing all of his friends he had made when he moved to South Korea. None of Hoshi and Jun’s friends talked to him anymore, just gave him sad looks whenever he came around. Seungcheol wouldn’t even look at him. Hoshi was angry at him. Everyone in school gave him dirty looks or they were intimated by him.

Jackson saw GOT6 around and he knew they were looking at him whenever he was in sight but he just refused to talk or speak with them anymore. It just wasn’t worth the frustration.

Breathing heavily, Jackson let his hands fall away from the bag after he had vented most of his frustration out. Quickly unwrapping his hands and slipping his hoodie on, he slipped the hood up over his head and grabbed his duffel bag before heading out of the gym.

Another lonely walk back home.

* * *

 

Shutting the door quietly, Jackson sat the duffel bag down beside of the door before he took off his shoes and slipped his jacket off.

When Sanghyuk had ‘kicked’ him out, it had hurt but it was probably for the better. So in the end, Jackson found a tiny one-room apartment in downtown Seoul. It wasn’t the best, it had a lot of issues, but it was stable enough for Jackson to live in.

Coughing, Jackson quietly made his way into the tiny kitchen which wasn’t even a kitchen and got himself a bottle of water out of the fridge.

Just as he a took a sip of the drink, something grabbed his shoulder. Immediately, Jackson dropped the water bottle and turned around and hit whoever it was in the face before kicking their leg out from underneath of them. Another hand came and wrapped around his neck. It kept dragging upwards so soon enough, Jackson was struggling to breath.

Furious, Jackson reached behind him and forcibly hit whoever was holding him in the crotch. Jackson was dropped quickly and Jackson was quick to get a kitchen knife for protection. He took in his surroundings.

There was three men in his kitchen. One was armed with a gun, the other two had no sense of protection.

Jackson smirked and started to reach for the first man when the one of the ‘unprotected’ men brought out a taser and hit him right about his heart. Jackson’s whole body seized up and fell to the floor, his limbs twitched profusely.

As soon as the pain had started, it had stopped. But still, Jackson’s body felt like the taser had been on his body for hours.

“This will only hurt if you resist.” One of them said.

A hand grabbed his own hands and twisted them behind his back. Metal latched around his wrists.

Something was shoved over his mouth and nose. It smelled sickly sweet.

Black took his vision and he knew no more.

The men lifted him up and practically dragged him out his apartment, leaving the door wide open.

On the foyer table, just inside in front of the front door, laid Jackson’s phone. It was buzzing and vibrating as well as lighting up. A name came across the screen.

**Kwon Jiyong**

Soon after the call had left a voicemail, a text came in.

_Youngbae: Jackson, whenever you read this, come to HQ. You’re not safe. Something bad has happened. Call me ASAP._

If only they had warned Jackson a little earlier.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm going to leave this sorta open for now and I may come back and write a sequel, who knows.

**Author's Note:**

> leave me suggestions about what you want to happen? or how it has been so far?  
> i've been craving jackbum as of lately but i couldn't leave jinyoung unwanted so therefore, he is the medium to this relationship.


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